Friday, December 19, 2008

(Warning: some post contents may be offensive to vegetarians (except me), PETA, tool lovers, and those who have no sense of humor).

A few years ago, my in-laws decorated their house for Christmas.The Christmas Ladder!

Doug Deer!Complete with red shiny nose.

And the rarely seen act of nature never before caught on video... the mating of the mechanical deer:These were not allowed into the front yard, sadly, but have made appearances at several Christmas Parties.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Last January, I posted my goals for the year. How have I done this year? There have been some sidetracks, some delayed projects, and some re-prioritizing. Discovering the brick under the siding was unexpected, and sucked up much of our remodeling money this year, putting other projects on the back burner. We've still accomplished quite a bit on our list, though!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

It is SO COLD here! BRRRRR! In honor of the cold, I'm reposting a very old post (that nobody probably saw before!). I've seen some discussion over whether lowering your heat really helps save money... these numbers prove it does (on a forced air heating system, at least).

We saved 19 therms a month, simply by installing a programmable thermostat! Installing the thermostat took about 20 minutes of our lives. WELL worth it! We have definitely saved our $30 many times over. Now that we have made the house more efficient in other ways, I'm looking for even more savings this year!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

and I'm not telling! You don't get to see, because certain someones read my blog and I hate ruining Christmas surprises. I've been spending the last week hard at work on Christmas presents for family, friends, and co-workers... so there are no house updates. I'll post the present ideas in January... they would be good for birthdays and such, or for filing for next year.

I'd encourage everyone to make something for a present this year. Putting a bit of yourself in a present makes it that much more special, and you can be sure it's exactly what you want to give. It can be as simple as homemade candy or as complex as a hand knitted scarf. Perhaps framed pictures of a loved one's favorite things. Use your imagination!

For those that don't have the time to create something by hand, be sure to check out Etsy. If you order in the next few days, it will still get here by Christmas!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

We realized last winter that our back door was a hollow core door masquerading as a back door. Not good for heat loss or efficiency! I took a trip to the Habitat ReStore and bought the cheapest solid door I could find as a replacement, as we intend on removing the doorway in the remodel (if it ever gets done).

To match the hinges up, I stacked the doors on my "workbench" (picnic table). This allowed me to match the positioning exactly.I reused the existing hinges, though they may not be beefy enough for this door (which is very heavy). The door is installed... and it does feel a little warmer in the laundry room now.

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